My5 Finds Archives - Frugalbits

Carmen Ruiz y Laza Shares Her Vancouver

June 23, 2011/826 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Columns, My5 Finds /by Editor

Media relations maven and woman about town Carmen Ruiz y Laza shares her sources for looking good and living well without breaking the bank.

A hyper-connected media relations specialist with clients who have ranged from Cartier and Hermès to the Vancouver Opera and United Way, Carmen Ruiz y Laza knows what’s what and who’s who in Vancouver. As a producer of high-profile events like the Fashionista’s Ball (see our story here), she always needs to be well-turned out. Originally from Spain, Carmen follows the old European tradition of wearing timeless classics. She invests in a few really good quality items in neutral colours and wears them for years. Here are her five cheap, free or worth-it things to do, see or buy in Vancouver. Read more

Lesley Stowe’s 5 Things You Ought To Try

April 15, 2011/5 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Columns, My5 Finds /by Editor

Lesley Stowe, the mastermind behind everyone’s favourite Raincoast Crisps, picks five, cool things we really ought to try.

Parisian-trained chef and bestselling cookbook author Lesley Stowe is the founder of Lesley Stowe Fine Foods, the specialty food company that manufactures Raincoast Crisps, B.C.’s most recognizable snack and the number-one gourmet cracker for taste-conscious hosts throughout North America. Read more

Style Maven Anicka Quin Shops & Eats YVR

April 1, 2011/0 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Columns, My5 Finds /by Editor

Western Living editor and style maven extraordinaire Anicka Quin shares a few of her top spots to eat and shop.

As the editor-in-chief of Western Living magazine—western Canada’s largest magazine dedicated to homes, food and wine, and travel—Anicka Quin spends a lot of time travelling the West to sleuth out her favourite design finds. A former Craigslist devotee—fed by an addiction to collecting midcentury modern furniture—she’s now a gatherer of contemporary pieces to pair with her teak. When she’s not travelling, she’s feeding her other great love: cooking fabulous food with friends and documenting it on her blog, Cardomom Pod.

Here are her suggestions for five cheap, free or worth-it things to do, see or buy in Vancouver. Read more

Keefer Bar by Battersby Howat - Ed White Photography

Jordan Eng Chows Around Chinatown

March 25, 2011/1 Comment/in CANADIAN CONTENT, My5 Finds /by Editor

Chinatown insider Jordan Eng takes us to his favourite spots in one of Vancouver’s trendiest areas.

Jordan Eng knows Chinatown inside out. As vice-president of Success Realty and Insurance, founded by his parents in the ’60s, he works from an office on Keefer Street in the heart of Chinatown. He is also actively involved in the community as vice-president of the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association, co-chair of the Chinatown Festival and past chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee. Here are his suggestions for five cheap, free or worth-it things to do, see or buy in a new Chinatown that blends trendiness with tradition.

Jordan Eng’s Fave Five Read more

bob kronbauer, buntzen lake - katie cubitt

Bob Kronbauer’s Fave 5 Vancouver Haunts

January 15, 2011/2 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, My5 Finds /by carolannrule

Internet maven Bob Kronbauer of the award-winning website Vancouver Is Awesome spreads some of that awesomeness around.

He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere: Bob Kronbauer, founder and chief booster and bottle washer at the delightfully addictive two-year-old website Vancouver Is Awesome (VIA was recently voted the best local blog of 2010 by Georgia Straight readers), is a man on a mission to introduce residents and visitors to the fresh, cool and ephemeral things that make our region the sweet place to live that it is.

When he’s not overseeing a team of 20-plus pro bono editors and contributors (this is a not-for-profit operation) who produce daily features on a smorgasbord of tasty local topics mainly of the arts and culture variety, Bob somehow finds time to involve VIA in an inordinate number of outside projects, either partnering with organizations or going solo to work on festivals, events and exhibits.

And in addition to all this, he has found a few minutes to write for Frugalbits. O Lucky Us!

Bob Kronbauer’s 5 five free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver (or beyond) Read more

Chef John Bishop’s Top Shops & Nosheries

December 17, 2010/1 Comment/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Columns, My5 Finds /by carolannrule

Celebrated Chef John Bishop shares his favourite shops and nosheries (and what to order) on Vancouver’s Westside.

Regional, seasonal cuisine made with fresh, organic, local ingredients is common- place at many restaurants in Vancouver today, but this notion was revolutionary in Vancouver in 1985 when John Bishop opened the casually elegant restaurant that bears his name on 4th Avenue.

Consistently listed among restaurant guidebooks as one of the city’s top fine dining eateries, award-winning Bishop’s seasonal menus continue to reflect Chef Bishop’s original commitment to sustainable ingredients and the growers who produce them, a dedication also affirmed in his now-classic 2002 documentary, Deconstructing Supper, that investigates food safety in the age of GMOs (genetically modified foods) and industrial agriculture.

This past year, John Bishop received the first-ever Governor Generals’ award for culinary arts, plus a coveted Edna. The Edna, a Canadian Culinary Book Award, is a lifetime achievement prize given to someone who has contributed significantly to the promotion of regional cuisine In Canada.

John Bishop’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver Read more

Martin Tessler Views, Noshes and Shops YVR

November 26, 2010/1 Comment/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Columns, My5 Finds /by carolannrule

Photographer Martin Tessler is our guy with an eye for what to see, eat and buy in fair and rainy Vancouver.

A favourite among Canada’s top shelter magazine editors and art directors as well as talented architects and interior designers from coast to coast, Vancouver photographer Martin Tessler is known for exploiting the most dramatic, least apparent angles of the buildings, rooms and gardens he shoots.

Tessler recently won both gold and silver honours at Canada’s National Magazine Awards and includes among his current high-profile assignments Douglas Coupland’s home and James Franco’s portrait for The New York Times. Oh, and he also covered Canadian Architect with Bob Rennie’s private and uber cool Wing Sang [art] Gallery located on Pender Street. Read more

Kelly Deck’s Top Sources For Home Decor & More

November 19, 2010/1 Comment/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Home & Garden, My5 Finds /by carolannrule

Top Vancouver interior designer and media personality Kelly Deck shares great + affordable sources for stylish things for your home.

Kelly Deck has immersed herself in the spirit and lifestyle of the West Coast design community. When she opened her interior décor boutique on Vancouver’s Main Street in 2002, she began a successful foray into homes and backyards, developing a design presence that champions the integrity of coast living and the importance of design.

Now the director of Kelly Deck Design in beachside Kitsilano, her full-service interior design firm specializes in private residences. Her ideas have gained national reach through her Globe and Mail column The West Coast Way; her HGTV series, Take It Outside; and her appearances on Urban Rush, CityLine TV and Breakfast Television.

Kelly Deck’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver Read more

Shop With Alda Pereira, Designer Of The Year

November 5, 2010/0 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Home & Garden, My5 Finds /by carolannrule

Frugalbits goes shopping with Alda Pereira, western Canada’s 2010 interior designer of the year.

Already considered one of Canada’s top interior designers with many awards and plenty of ink in glossy publications to her credit, Alda Pereira added another feather to her cap last month when a jury of her peers recognized her as Western Living magazine’s 2010 interior designer of the year.

While her private residential projects and multi-unit development interiors are always a delight to the eye, Pereira is no “shrinking wallflower looking to please multitudes,” commented Western Living editor Anicka Quin, who appreciates Pereira’s “knack for pairing the unusual with the well tailored.”

We love Pereira’s talent too—and her personality, which despite her early and prolonged success, is refreshingly unaffected. Pereira admits she loves to shop “Unabashedly. Period,” she says, “especially window-shopping. Did I mention that it’s free?” Here she shares a few of her favourite haunts. Read more

Heike and Coreen Do YVR On The Green Side

October 15, 2010/3 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Columns, My5 Finds /by carolannrule

Top casting directors Heike Brandstatter and Coreen Mayrs explore Vancouver (and Bowen Island) on the green side.

Emmy Award-winning casting directors Coreen Mayrs and Heike Brandstatter spend most of their days casting feature film and television shows, having worked on such past projects as Juno, Battlestar Galactica, Capote and Diary of A Wimpy Kid. Their current projects include This Means War (starring Reese Witherspoon), Hellcats, Smallville and the soon-to-be-released Tron: Legacy. In their spare time they can be found exploring sustainable design, green building and cooking with organic ingredients.